Appendix 1: Electing the Party Leader THE LEADERSIDP ELECfION RULES OF THE POLmCAL PARTIES The Conservative, Labour and Liberal Democrat parties each have their own particular system for electing or removing their party leaders. The latest versions of each parties' respective procedures controlling these elections are given below. There has only ever been one party leader who has been forcibly removed under the party's leadership election rules whilst holding office as Prime Minister, and that was Margaret Thatcher in November 1990. I As a consequence she was politically obliged to resign as Prime Minister. And since 1945 there has been only one party leader to be forcibly removed under the leadership rules whilst serving as Leader of the Opposition, this being Edward Heath in 1975 (who was ousted in the contest by Margaret Thatcher). All other leaders of the Conservative and Labour parties, whether in government or opposition, have voluntarily resigned their position. With the single exception of Harold Wilson, who freely stepped down as Labour leader and Prime Minister in 1976, the reasons for other departures have been either a general election defeat (as with Labour's Clement Attlee in 1955, James Callaghan in 1980 and Neil Kinnock in 1992, and the Conservatives' Sir Alec Douglas-Home in 1964) or else the physical reasons of ill-health (as with the Conservatives' Sir Winston Churchill in 1955, Sir Anthony Eden in 1957 and Harold Macmillan in 1963) or death (Labour's Hugh Gaitskell in 1963 and John Smith in 1994). The Conservatives have only had formal party leadership election rules since 1965: previously leaders 'emerged' after a period of consultation and negotiation (generally with Buckingham Palace acting as broker if the party leader was Prime Minister, as in 1957 and 1963). Across all the parties, therefore, even allowing for a number of unsuccessful challenges to incumbent leaders (such as Tony Benn's challenge to Neil Kinnock in 1988 and Sir Anthony Meyer's against Margaret Thatcher in 1989), contests to replace or remove party leaders have not taken place with any great frequency over the past 50 years of British politics. 2 411 432 Appendix 1 The Conservative Party PROCEDURE FOR THE SELECTION OF THE LEADER OF THE CONSERVATIVE PARTY Timings of Elections and General Responsibilities 1. If the position of Leader of the Party is vacant, an election shall be held as early as possible. 2. Otherwise there shall be an election in the House of Commons beginning within 28 days of the opening of each new Session of Parliament (except that in the case of a new Parliament the election shall be held not earlier than three months or later than six months from the date of assembly of that Parliament) provided that the Chairman of the 1922 Committee is advised in writing by not less than 10 per cent of the members of the Parliamentary party that they believe such an election to be necessary. On receipt of such advice, which must reach him within 14 days of the opening of a new Session or within three months of the start of a new Parliament, and without disclosing the names of any of the signatories, the Chairman shall inform the Leader of the Party that an election is required, and together they shall determine the actual date. Otherwise the Chairman will declare that the Leader of the Party has been returned unopposed for a further term. 3. The Chairman of the 1922 Committee will be responsible for the conduct of all ballots and will settle all matters in relation thereto. Nominations and List of Candidates 4. Candidates will be proposed and seconded in writing by Members of the House of Commons in receipt of the Conservative Whip. The Chairman of the 1922 Committee and scrutineers designated by him will be available to receive nominations. Each candidate will indicate on the nomination paper that he is prepared to accept nomination, and no candidate will accept more than one nomination. The names of the proposer and seconder will be published by the scrutineers. Nominations will close by noon on a Thursday five days before the date of the First Ballot. S. If only one valid nomination is received, the Chairman of the 1922 Committee shall declare this person elected. If more than one valid nomination is received, the Chairman of the 1922 Committee and his scrutineers will publish a list of the valid nominations and immediately transmit a copy to the two Vice-Chairmen of the 1922 Committee, the Chief Whip in the House of Commons, the Chairman of the National Union, the Electing the Party Leader 433 Chairman of the Executive Committee of the National Union, the President of the Scottish Conservative and Unionist Association, the Chairman of the Party, the Chairman of the Party in Scotland, the Chairman of the Association of Conservative Peers, the Chief Whip in the House of Lords, and the Leader of the Conservative Members of the European Parliament. Procedure for Consultation 6. During the period between the close of nominations and the date of the First Ballot it shall be the responsibility of the constituency Association in each constituency which is represented by a Conservative Member of Parliament to ascertain, in conjunction with the Member, the views of their membership regarding the candidates by the most effective means available. 7. The Chairman of the Association of Conservative Peers and the Chief Whip in the House of Lords will make such arrangements as appropriate to obtain the views of Peers in receipt of the Conservative Whip. 8. The Leader of the Conservative Members of the European Parliament will obtain the views of MEPs in receipt of the Conservative Whip. 9. In order that all sections of the Party shall be consulted, Area Chairmen of the National Union will obtain the opinions of constituency associations, through their Chairmen and report their findings to the Chairman of the National Union and the Chairman of the Executive Committee of the National Union. In Scotland the Area Chairmen wiII similarly consult and report to the President of the Scottish Conservative and Unionist Association. They will also report to Conservative Members of Parliament within the area of their responsibility the views of constituencies not represented by a Conservative Member of Parliament. 10. The Chairman of the Association of Conservative Peers, the Chief Whip in the House of Lords, the Leader of the Conservative Members of the European Parliament, the Chairman of the National Union and the Chairman of the Executive Committee of the National Union, together with the President of the Scottish Conservative and Unionist Association, will on the Monday attend a meeting of the Executive Committee of the 1922 Committee for the purpose of conveying to them the collective views of the Peers in receipt of the Conservative Whip, the Members of the European Parliament in receipt of the Conservative Whip, the National Union and the Scottish Conservative and Unionist Association respectively. Each wiII be invited to bring a brief note summarising the views of those consulted. 11. It shall be the responsibility of the Chairman and other members ofthe 1922 Executive Committee to ensure that these views are available to Members of the House of Commons in receipt of the Conservative Whip. 434 Appendix 1 PART 11- CONDUCT OF THE ELECTION First Ballot 12. The First Ballot will be held on the Tuesday immediately following the closing date for nominations. For this ballot the scrutineers will prepare a ballot paper listing the names of the candidates and give a copy for the purpose of balloting to each Member of the House of Commons in receipt of the Conservative Whip. 13. For the first ballot each voter will indicate one choice from the candidates listed. 14. Where any Member is unavoidably absent from the House on that day for any reason acceptable to the scrutineers, the Chairman of the 1922 Committee shall make appropriate arrangements for the appointment of a 1S. The ballot will be secret and neither the names of those who have voted for a particular candidate nor the names of those who have abstained from voting shall be disclosed by the scrutineers. 16. If, as a result of this ballot, one candidate both (i) receives an overall majority of the votes of those entitled to vote and (ii) receives I S per cent more of the votes of those entitled to vote than any other candidate, he will be elected. 17. The scrutineers will announce the number of votes received by each candidate, and if no candidate satisfies these conditions a second ballot will be held. Second Ballot 18. The Second Ballot will be held on the following Tuesday. Nominations made for the First Ballot will be void. New nominations will be submitted by the Thursday, under the same procedure and with the same arrangements for consultation as described in paragraphs 4-11 for the First Ballot, both for the original candidates if required and for any other candidates . 19. The voting procedure for the Second Ballot will be the same as for the First, save that paragraph 16 shall not apply. If, as a result of this Second Ballot, one candidate receives an overall majority of the votes of those entitled to vote, that candidate will be elected. Third Ballot 20. If no candidate receives an overall majority, any candidate may withdraw his or her name by advising the Chairman of the 1922 Committee to that effect before 6pm the following day. Of those then remaining, the Electing the Party Leader 435 two candidates who received the highest number of votes at the Second Ballot will go forward to a Third Ballot on Thursday.